Enchiladas

Traditional Red Enchiladas

Growing up near the border, enchiladas were a staple dish that everyone in the home enjoyed. However, it wasn't until this year that I learned the right way to make enchiladas, and so they seemed like a good starting dish for this blog.


So for those who don't know, enchiladas are a classic Mexican dish, where a corn tortilla is wrapped around a filling and covered with a chili pepper sauce. Your choice of fillings and sauces is up to the chef's choice. Popular fillings include:
*Meats like beef, pork, chicken, and fish
*Beans
*Cheese
*Vegetables like potatoes, corn, peppers, and onions

Green enchiladas

And sauces can also be varied, with options like:
*The traditional Chile Colorado, a red sauce of chiles and garlic
*The more commonly seen Red sauce, made of tomatoes, chiles, and spices
*Green enchilada sauce, made of tomatillos and green chiles
*Mole sauce (technically making the enchiladas enmoladas)
*Enchiladas suiza, where enchiladas are topped with a spiced cream sauce

As my family is vegetarian, we prefer to make black bean enchiladas with a red sauce, and we prefer the taste of the white corn tortillas over the yellow, so that is what we tend to choose. The specifics are really up to you. Here is a sample recipe for a 9x13 pan's amount, but remember that there is no limit to what your imagination can come up with!

Sample Fillings (I tried my best with estimations, so bare with me if I'm a bit off):

1. Chicken (about 4 breasts worth, cooked, drained of fat, and shredded) with sauteed garlic (2 cloves), sauteed onion (1 large) and chopped green chiles (1 4-oz can)
2. Black beans (2 cans, washed and drained) with sauteed garlic (2 cloves), sauteed onion (1 medium), corn (6 oz), and chopped green chiles (1 4oz can)
3. Spinach (10 oz, cooked down and drained) and ricotta cheese (1 cup), with sauteed green onions (1/2 cup sliced), sauteed garlic (2 cloves), roasted jalapeno (1 pepper, diced) and sour cream (1/2 cup)

Recipe:
12+ tortillas (small or medium, white or yellow corn)
Filling
Sauce (about 19 oz, either homemade or canned)
Cheese (about 2 cups shredded)
A 9x13 pan, greased

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Cook the parts of your fillings that need to be cooked and mix ingredients together
3. If using a canned sauce, place it in a large pot and cook on low-medium heat til sauce is thick. Otherwise your enchiladas will be soupy.
4. In a skillet over medium heat, fry the tortillas in oil until they just start to bubble, so they become flexible and don't break.
5. Pour some of your thickened sauce in the bottom of your 9x13 pan
6. Take the tortilla and lay it partially in the pan. Spoon a desired amount of your mixture into the tortilla, add a bit of your cheese, and roll them, placing the enchilada seam side down in your pan.
7. Do this to your following tortillas until your enchiladas have completely filled your pan. This can be anywhere from 7-20 enchiladas, depending on the size of your tortillas, the amount of filling placed in, and how tightly you packed them.
8. Evenly spread the rest of your cheese on the enchiladas, then pour your sauce, making sure to evenly cover the entire dish.
9. Place in the oven and cook for 15-25 minutes (vegetarian fillings tend to cook quicker than meat, not sure why). The sauce will be bubbling and the cheese melted all the way through.
10. Take out, cool, and enjoy!!